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Meta-Analysis
. 2024 Mar 7;18(3):e0012003.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0012003. eCollection 2024 Mar.

Prevalence of depressive symptoms in patients with advanced schistosomiasis in China: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Yu-Xin Qi  1 , Meng-Rui Huang  1 , Hui-Ying Sun  1 , Xiao-Yan Wu  1 , Ze-Ting Liu  1 , Da-Bing Lu  1
Affiliations
Meta-Analysis

Prevalence of depressive symptoms in patients with advanced schistosomiasis in China: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Yu-Xin Qi et al. PLoS Negl Trop Dis. .

Abstract

Background: Advanced schistosomiasis is the most serious outcome of infection and has a negative impact on both physical fitness and mental health of patients, the latter of which has long been overlooked. Therefore, we performed this systematic review and meta-analysis to estimate the overall prevalence of depressive symptoms, one of the most common mental problems, in patients with advanced schistosomiasis in China.

Methods: Six electronic databases were searched for studies reporting the prevalence of depressive symptoms in the targeted patients. Assessments were pooled using a fixed- or random-effects model based on heterogeneity test. Subgroup analyses were further performed and differences between/among groups were examined using the chi-squared test. The protocol had previously been registered in PROSPERO (CRD42023406708).

Results: A total of 11 studies with 1,673 participants were included. The pooled prevalence of depressive symptoms in advanced schistosomiasis in China was 62.01% (95% CI: 51.30% - 72.72%), with a significant heterogeneity among studies. Depressive symptoms were more prevalent in patients with complications and more than half of the patients suffered a mild- or moderate-level of depression. No publication bias was found, and sensitivity analysis showed a stable result.

Conclusions: The overall prevalence of depressive symptoms in advanced schistosomiasis in China was high enough to warrant psychotherapeutic interventions, especially for patients with complications. This would greatly prevent or/and reduce depression and improve their quality of life.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. PRISMA flow diagram of search results and study selection [28].
Fig 2
Fig 2. Forest plot of the prevalence of depressive symptoms in advanced schistosomiasis (n = 1,673).
95% CI, 95% confidence interval.
Fig 3
Fig 3. Subgroup analyses of prevalence (%, 95% CI) of depressive symptoms in advanced schistosomiasis.
Four papers provided information on the level of depression, four on genders, three on marital status and three on complications of the disease. * p < 0.05.
Fig 4
Fig 4. Forest plot of depressive symptoms prevalence stratified by the level of depression.
Fig 5
Fig 5. Forest plot of depressive symptoms prevalence stratified by suffering complications or not.
Fig 6
Fig 6. Funnel plots of the prevalence of depressive symptoms in advanced schistosomiasis.
Fig 7
Fig 7. Sensitivity analysis of the prevalence of depressive symptoms in advanced schistosomiasis.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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